The Third Wheel Examination
by Cara meli
Summary: A man from Amy's past joins date night
1. Chapter 1

The Third Wheel Examination

_Some spoilers ahead. Usual disclaimers apply. _

If there ever was any doubt in Sheldon's mind about the accuracy of the description "bored to death", he had long forgotten about it, for before him was a pathetic specimen whose presence exuded the kind of tedium that could easily cause fatalities. As he lazily forked his salad, moving the greens this way and that, in a futile attempt to save himself from his impending ennui-induced demise, Sheldon contemplated that whoever crafted the idiom most probably had the likes of Carl in mind.

Carl, Sheldon thought with a sigh; of all the miscalculations he made that day, allowing Carl to join date night was the worst. Like his area of expertise, if one requires expertise to do psychology, Carl was brimming with so much insipidness his body, gargantuan muscles and all, could barely contain it. He was the poster boy for dullness. He was boredom personified.

For the sake of their experiment, Sheldon resisted with all the willpower he could muster the urge to interrupt Carl's intense eye contact with his girlfriend, Amy. It had only been one minute and Sheldon was already a mere three inches away from smacking Carl's head into the table, a violent impulse he was unfamiliar with but decided was the inevitable, reasonable reaction of anyone unfortunate enough to be in close proximity to Carl.

Yet, the object of Sheldon's vexation to anyone else in the restaurant was actually the opposite of boredom. Dressed in a crisp black suit, a white button-down shirt and a perfectly-styled, jet-black hair, the psychologist was the epitome of charm and magnetism. In his handsomely aquiline face was a smile that brought life even to the dead-eyed, overworked food server, who ushered them with a never before seen energy in the establishment. Words flowed smoothly out of his mouth and into the ears of his listeners, who in their delight at hearing his clever utterances, stutter with nervousness in an effort to match the allure and wit of the exceptional conversationalist that was Carl.

Amid the onslaught of rainbows and unicorns and fantasies Carl's existence brought towards the people around them, Sheldon remained oblivious. Where others saw an impeccable attire, he saw wrinkles in seven places so unsightly it made him cringe with an accompanying itch to throw an iron board to his face. Where the waitresses admired a sharp face and an energizing smile, he squirmed at the display of all the wrong angles and asymmetry. And, where listeners heard enchanting remarks, he endured an overwhelming desire to scream at the superfluity and at the most objectionable elocution he had the misfortune of hearing. In short, to Sheldon, he should have been just like any other person, negligible and annoying in their mediocrity, predictability, and inanity. But, he wasn't because Sheldon made the mistake of inviting him to his dinner date with Amy.

Scratch that; Sheldon made no mistake. Blame it all to the temptress that was science and her escort promise of a free meal, which presented themselves that afternoon in Amy's lab.

He visited his girlfriend shortly after lunch to discuss her motion that they should try the new vegetarian restaurant in town for date night. They had just finished evaluating the merit of each other's arguments and was about to put it to a vote when a stranger interrupted them.

"I'll be damned," the stranger said, "Amy?"

Sheldon's eyebrows shot all the way up to his hairline. Irrational as it was, hearing a stranger call his beloved by her first name annoyed him. He wanted to dismiss him right then and there and tell him off, beginning with "Oh, you'll be damned, alright" but before the words could escape his mouth and the thoughts continue to primal paths, he saw Amy frowning the same way he was at the stranger. Best to let her handle the situation, besides the person all but dropped one sentence on them, it would be premature to go Texan at him right away.

"Yes? I'm Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler," Amy replied. "Do I know you?"

The man, who by his demeanor was an obvious academic, adjusted his spectacles and walked closer to where the couple was standing. "You really have forgotten. That's a first for me. It's Carl."

Amy merely squinted at him, trying hard to remember who he was.

"Dr. Carl Fuller," he said, extending his hand towards her. "We went out years ago. Three times actually when we were still doing our postdoc. Remember?"

It was a statement that brought Sheldon's already raised eyebrows closer together. He eyed the guy from head to toe, wondering if there was any truth to his claim.

"Oh. Yes, I remember," Amy said, slightly amused as she sensed Sheldon turn abruptly and questioningly at her. "Carl, the psychologist."

"A psychologist," Sheldon grinned smugly, shrugged and returned to the board where the notations on their restaurant discussion were outlined, his earlier hostility forgotten. Whatever her reasons for going out with a psychologist were, Sheldon knew the guy was no threat. "You're in the wrong building. The humanities is on the other side of the campus," he said, with his back to him.

"Taunting. That's an interesting response. Let me guess, you're Amy's boyfriend," Carl said. "A few minutes with you and I can tell you more about yourself than your own mother could."

"Oh, please. You said it yourself. You guessed. Besides, my relationship with Amy is hardly a difficult deduction, with her propensity to invade my personal space, for starters," he retorted.

Now acutely aware of how closely they were standing, Amy put some distance between her and Sheldon. "Carl is a clinical psychologist. And didn't I tell you that you can't go around telling people that what they're doing isn't science?" with a lower tone and a side smirk, she added, "at least not to their faces."

Not privy to Amy's side remark, Carl continued, "You really can't point me to the humanities when your own girlfriend is doing neurobiology. Right, Amy? We are allied sciences. Our fields are practically married, it's no wonder we hit it off when we first met."

"I see that," Sheldon nodded, "biology and psychology. My apologies. They are on the same level, aren't they?" He smirked, proud that he was able to use sarcasm.

Amy turned to glare at Sheldon only to bump at his chest as he apparently had moved nearer to her again. Unable to suppress a smile at his unconscious movement, she looked back at Carl, eager to get him out of her lab so she could be alone with Sheldon again.

"Can I help you with anything?" she inquired.

"Actually, it's my first day here at Caltech. I saw your name on the directory and thought I should give you a visit," Carl said, "And wow, you're just as intriguing as before. We should go out sometime. My treat."

"And you, you're as confident as I remember," she said, shocked by his brazen invitation, in front of his boyfriend no less.

But, the boyfriend, it turned out was not. "Actually, we're going out tonight," Sheldon said, "you should join us."

Before Amy could object, Carl replied, "Great, I'll pick the two of you in here after work then. See you." And, with a wink directed at Amy, he was out of the door in no time.

"Sheldon!" Amy raised her voice at Sheldon.

"Fine. I yield. We're going to that new restaurant," he said, waving his hands up in surrender.

"That's not what I'm talking about. Why did you invite him on our date?"

"He's a psychologist, Amy. It's too great an opportunity to be passed on."

Amy's eyes narrowed into slits. She stomped her foot once and crossed her arms in front of her chest, demanding an explanation. Sheldon knew that it's a gesture that was meant to intimidate him. Instead of intimidation, however, Amy's appearance roused a different feeling in him. He stared at her. Her hair was tied up with a few loose strands on her neck; her lab gown, unbuttoned. Mesmerized, he grabbed the fabric, pulled her closer, and started buttoning the coat.

"I was thinking," he cleared his throat, "we could do that falling in love experiment on him and you. Talk about disproving a psychology study to a psychologist's face."

Not allowing herself to be distracted by his proximity, she answered firmly, "No. I am not revealing intimate details of my life to Carl. He's practically a stranger."

"Exactly," Sheldon said, as he finished the last of the buttons. "And he's clearly interested in you so it won't be hard. Besides, I'll be nearby to record my observations."

"No. You already disproved that experiment with Penny. "

"Please," he countered, smiling seductively at her. "And that trial at the apartment was doomed from the beginning I could not fall in love with Penny even with a gun at my head.

"I think Penny will hold herself at gunpoint if you did. And it's still a no, Sheldon."

"Fine. Just the staring part then. Kellerman's experiment has more credibility than those questions anyway," he negotiated.

Amy sighed, knowing that her boyfriend was not going to let it go. "Alright. Two minutes then, that was the original experiment."

"Could you do four minutes? Please."

"Three. And that's it." Amy said with finality.

"Alright," he conceded. "If it makes you happy, we can give him the puzzles, too and compare his results with that of Penny and Leonard and the monkey, of course. This time, we'll have psychologist versus ape. That's an interesting inquiry."

At that, Amy's resolve faltered. Her previously stern face broke into a wide grin. She stood on tiptoe and gave Sheldon a quick kiss on the lips and said, "You really do know how to work my buttons." Missing the innuendo, Sheldon returned her smile and tapped her shoulder. "Now, off to work with you, little lady. I'll see you later."

As he stepped away, he heard her say, "What will you do if I fall in love with him?"

"Amy, that's absurd," he stopped and snorted but she just looked at him, expecting an answer. "I'll give up Star Trek."

"Really? That's my love's worth?"

"Yes," he said, proudly. "In fact, I'll add Star Wars in that, too."

Amy rolled her eyes. "You're only making it more and more tempting, Sheldon."

"I am, aren't I? Hmm…I suppose I'd give up comic books, too. There will be no fun for me until I get you back."

"You're gonna get me back?"

"Yes," he replied matter-of-factly, "I love you." And, with that, he gave her one last smile and walked away.

Although Sheldon was wont to admit it, he actually wanted to do that love test. Ever since he arrived at the conclusion that he's in love with Amy, his curiosity about love had increased so much he was horrified at the amount of researches, even from the field of social sciences, that he had read on the topic. Is romantic love something that people feel only towards one person, in his case only towards Amy? Or if it possible to replicate the emotion, the feeling given the right conditions? He repeated these questions in his head over and over that when Amy brought up the article, he jumped at the opportunity.

But, just as he expected, the experiment and its results were absurd. He realized that he would always be the exception when it comes to those feelings. A genius like him could not really be the subject of such tests. In fact, he was now convinced that he would not have experienced love if he didn't meet Amy. That vixen.

He had lingering questions however. He knew that Amy is head over heels in love with him as he is with her and that she's as much a genius as he is but could the experiment have any effect on her? He did not want to entertain the question since a large part of him believed that he already knew the answer. But, the uncertainty, little as it was, was eating at him like a buzz in his ear that wouldn't go away for how could he be sure when, other than what he feels towards Amy, he knew nothing about love. Now more than ever, he had a chance to answer it with a guy who managed to coax three dates out of his girlfriend whom he was certain was as immoveable as him when it came to romantic feelings, at least before they met.

The worst of questions indeed, the what ifs, drove him to that maddening situation that night. He was supposed to sit in a different table to let the two subjects do the mutual gaze test without interruption but he found himself glued to his seat beside Amy. He insisted that they do it anyway so their night won't be wasted. And, boy, that smooth talker was one willing subject!

He glanced at his watch and sighed exasperatedly. Only one minute left now. _We'll see._


	2. Chapter 2

A time dilation witticism would have been made to describe Sheldon's situation but he cannot, for the life of him, conjure a clever physics-related comment during those penultimate seconds. He ran equations over his head, hoping that it would somehow speed up the moment, but which only did the opposite. Time mocked him; the more he wished for it to go faster, the slower it went, scandalizing him and mercilessly defying the physical laws he knew by heart.

For the subjects of the experiment, Sheldon wondered, was the three-minute mutual gaze as lengthy and as agonizing as it had been for him? He imagined Leonard would have by then already made a quip on the relativity of simultaneity, however misplaced but, he supposed, would not be an uncommon topic to pop up given the situation. In a final shot at prevaricating, he recalled familiar calculations on the matter and, like before, miserably failed.

Never again would he allow himself to go through such an ordeal, he told himself, as he concluded that the experience of having someone else's sight transfixed on the woman he loves was infinitely longer and exponentially more excruciating than every minute he spent watching that Green Lantern movie. Scoffing at the thought, he realized that his ability to postulate sensible comparisons had now eluded him. His mask of indifference had cracked and the bravery costume he wore with it had fallen off.

Thus, it was with great fear and effort that he lifted his eyes away from his plate and into the scene before him. His head and neck had gone stubbornly stiff, resisting his action due to the combination of rigidity caused by his posture for the last minutes and the cowardice spreading through his extremities. Despite it all, he found Carl's eyes and, under the spectacles, saw what he expected to see: dilated pupils.

Sheldon tasted bile in his mouth and felt his nails digging at his palms. He had predicted Carl's response to the exercise but failed to anticipate his own. This was a mistake and, now, he admitted to himself, not because of boredom or Carl's dullness. It was a mistake of his own doing. It was, in other words, his fault.

His girlfriend was without doubt alluring and he was under no illusion that other men didn't notice it. But, at that moment, seeing one in the process of falling for her, of desiring her, made him tremble. He was outraged and what aggravated it was the realization that not only was he aware of Carl's interest towards Amy, he actually sanctioned it!

Alas, it was too late to retract and, with more intense nervous tremors, it dawned on him that he hadn't even glanced at Amy yet. He didn't know her past with Carl, which now made him really anxious. But, glance at her he must. Not because recording his observation was vital to the experiment but because of the parasitic concoction of emotions that was slowly crawling all over him. Against the opposition of his muscles and seemingly of every fiber of his being, he turned to look at Amy.

He let his eyes wander around her face, bit by bit, slowly bringing his sight towards its rightful landing place. Intending to look away after taking note of her pupilary reaction, he heaved a deep breath, summoned the courage he had left, and finally raised his eyes to examine hers.

For a split second, she broke her gaze with Carl to look at him and, when their eyes met—

The alarm went off.

The longest three minutes of his life had passed and, with it, the last shred of confidence he thought he had a surplus of that night, had ran out, too. He stared at her blankly, his eyes glued on her while she merely averted his eyes as soon as she heard the alarm, as if his gaze had scorched her.

What rendered Sheldon almost catatonic was the darkness of her pupils, which was no different from Carl's. He lost sensation on his face and on his entire body, as the immense implication of the phenomenon triumphed over him.

In fact, Sheldon was already grieving when he heard Carl clear his throat and say, "Well, that was interesting. Let me see…ah, yes, my affection for Amy has indeed increased and, mind you, there's no confirmation bias on this one as I am positive that that experiment is accurate."

If it was any other situation, Sheldon would have quickly pointed out that his statement in itself blatantly exhibited the tendency to search and to look only at the evidence that confirmed what he already believed. But, Sheldon was just too shaken to react.

Carl turned to Amy, "How about you, Amy? Have you fallen prey to my charms yet?" he asked.

As he was still focused on Amy, Sheldon saw a coy smile crossed his girlfriend's face and a faint blush crept on her cheeks. Then, she raised both her eyebrows in a noncommittal yet ostensible confirmation—a gesture that sent Sheldon struggling for breath as the familiar grasp of panic squeezed the air out of his lungs.

"I…ahm…excuse me," Sheldon gasped, running swiftly to the comfort room. Confused, devastated, and overwhelmed, he bumped at almost everyone that blocked his way. Upon closing the door, he paced around the area thinking that neither this nor any other room could give him comfort now. He washed his hands and face, closed his eyes, and resorted to the mental discipline of Kohlinar.

It was no small feat but, after a while, Sheldon managed to get his thoughts and emotions under control. He gambled and lost but like any other game he had played, Sheldon knew that with persistence, creativity, and careful planning, he could overturn the result of the game. He was aware, however, that this was no game and the chances of him emerging victorious after what transpired may be very small. Still, he had to believe that he can, once again, pontificate his way to Amy Farrah Fowler's heart and reverse whatever effect that claptrap experiment had imposed on her.

He got out of the comfort room and found a food server apparently waiting for him beside the door. "Lady drove you mad, huh?" he said, handing him a shot glass. "Here, to calm you down." Sheldon looked at him in disbelief but nevertheless guzzled the bitter fluid, which, to his surprise, indeed helped him relax.

Carl was doing one of Amy's puzzles when Sheldon got back to their table. He saw a wide and bafflingly mischievous smile appear on her face as he returned to her seat beside her. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered, slowly gaining cognizance that there might had been some subtext there that he had not picked up all along. Confused and still a little disoriented, he felt Amy's knuckles graze the top of his left hand very lightly and briefly, radiating a comforting warmth he feared he would never feel again.


	3. Chapter 3

The latent ambiguity of the setup could only be beneficial to Amy because whatever the roles was at their dinner table, there's no way the third wheel could be her. Neither did the arrangement appear to bother Carl, who was sitting comfortably across from them and unwittingly working on one of Amy's puzzles.

Sheldon snorted; well, if anything was to worry Carl, it should foremost be that his discipline lacks scientific rigor yet he did not see even that. So, how on earth could he have construed the underlying predicament that's threatening to destroy the order in Sheldon's life? Carl simply didn't have it in him to process the chaos that was before them. Oh, the horror! What pathetic yet blissful hell the simpletons must live in.

Sheldon was mocking Carl in his mind, actively and with full awareness. Condescension was his default defense and, so far, it was failing him. No matter how viciously he attacked Carl in his mind, whether by belittling his intellect or by envisioning his tragic downfall at the hands of a violent superhero, Sheldon could not rid himself of the anger, guilt, and fear he was feeling when he realized that he might have already lost the love of his life to Carl.

As the night went on, he grew more and more certain that the redundant understudy, the unwanted entity—the third wheel in that date was him. He was sitting very closely beside Amy; their arms brushing off at every move but her undivided attention was on Carl. She was laughing, her eyes sparkling, her cheeks an attractive shade of pink while the psychologist was enjoying the interest she was giving him.

Sheldon was outraged; he just had to be a fool and invite Carl. If it was any other date night, Amy's focus would have been on him and he missed it: the smiles, the look, the touches that used to be only for him. It was maddening. He was seated beside her yet there he was missing her like she was out of reach. Before Sheldon realized it, his hand moved, seemingly on its own accord, and grasped Amy's hand on her lap under the table.

This made her pause from her conversation with Carl about food and supertasters. She glanced briefly at him, her face still a cheery display, and adjusted her hand so their fingers were tightly intertwined.

Sheldon felt her squeeze his fingers a little, which made him shiver as he felt some sort of current from her touch. It was just like her to warm up everything that was cold about him, from his hands to the rest of his body. Her actions confounded Sheldon to no end. He tried very hard to catch her eyes at every point but whenever he thought he had her, he could not hold the gaze or rather she would not hold it and would look away immediately.

What an enigma Amy was that night but actually she had always been like that to him. When he thought he already had her all figured out, there's always something there to intrigue him, to draw him in further. She was attractively complex unlike that banana box puzzle Carl was currently struggling to open.

To divert attention away from him, as the couple was keenly observing his failure over the box, Carl decided to engage both in the conversation. "Is it true what they say about physicist? That they are lousy lovers?"

Amy was startled by his question. "What? Why would you say that?"

Sheldon just frowned at him.

"Well, the joke is, physicists are lousy lovers because if they find the position, they can't find the momentum and if they do find the momentum, they lose the position." Carl laughed. "So, is there any truth to it? Amy?"

Sheldon answered. "I excel at everything and whoever your sources are, kindly inform them that they are lousy jokers. I'm afraid I fail to find the humorous implication in there."

"Interesting," Carl said. "I take it you haven't found both momentum and position yet."

"That is none of your business." Sheldon said authoritatively.

"Alright but I should warn you. This woman," the psychologist gestured at Amy, "easy to arouse but very hard to please."

"Hey!" the couple said at the same time, with Sheldon standing up as if ready to beat him.

Amy tugged at his hand to get him to calm down. "Remember that experiment I told you on our first date. The one I volunteered on where they electronically-stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain to induce orgasm? Carl was one of the researchers there, that's how we met," she told him and then turned to glare at Carl. "And I was promised anonymity in that experiment. This is unacceptable, Dr. Fuller."

Carl sighed. "Gosh, I didn't mean to offend. As I told you before, the results of your test were so intriguing I had to track you down. I'm sorry, Amy, Sheldon."

Sheldon sat down again. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't talk and think about my girlfriend's arousal and orgasm again. Not only is it unethical and unprofessional, it is also highly personal as I am sure you already know. If anyone else aside from her is allowed to venture into such trains of thought, it's me. Don't you go wasting your scarce mental resources on that." He said emphatically.

"Again, my apologies. I got too comfortable; we used to approach the subject with scientific detachment then."

"Yes," Amy said, "back when I was single and going out with you. Back then it also wasn't discussed in jest, Carl."

"I couldn't apologize enough. Let me make it up to you. You know what, I'm just going to work on getting your banana out of this puzzle box. And if you have other boxed fruits in there, keep 'em coming."

"As a matter of fact, I have." Amy said, handing him two more puzzle boxes, both with different designs.

Carl started working on the puzzles again. He turned to Sheldon, whose eyebrows were still raised. "I'm actually surprised Amy has a boyfriend now. I remember the difficulty I had to go through to get her to go out with me and by the third date, I realized she wasn't interested in me but in my female colleagues. Could you believe it?"

"Yes," Sheldon remarked. "She showed interest in my neighbor Penny, too. But that was after she met me."

"How did you get her to agree to date you? Did you promise her your neighbor would hang out with her after? That's what I did."

"No. I simply texted her and asked her on a date with me," he said and smiled at Amy, who was also now smiling and not-so-discreetly observing Carl with the puzzles. "Didn't know psychologists would be poorly informed of the social convention on asking people out. Ha, of course, you'd resort to reward and positive reinforcements." He laughed.

The night went smoothly from that point on, with Sheldon a little more relaxed than before although still worried.

If anything though, he realized that he learned a lot that from that date. One, no more third wheels. Two, no more stupid love experiments with other people, his girlfriend was just too irresistible for that. It would be very difficult for him to fend off her hopeless admirers and past dates.

After Carl's blunder, once he returned to those puzzles, Amy's attention was back on him. She was beaming again and ignoring Sheldon, which made him wonder. Just how much of an effect did that staring experiment had on her?

Thankfully, by then, the dinner had come to an end. Carl drove them to Sheldon's apartment. He insisted on driving Amy to her place but Sheldon vehemently objected so Carl ended up just accompanying them up the stairs. Pleasantries were exchanged, although Sheldon wanted nothing more but to push Carl out of the building and be done with him.

When the psychologist was out of their sight, Amy jumped at him and pulled him down for a firm kiss on the lips. He was surprised by her action but returned the kiss with equal fervor. Their lips produced a popping sound when they separated.

"Did you see it? Did you see it?" Amy asked him eagerly. "All my lab monkeys were better than him, Sheldon. Oh, I should probably have him on a cage. I could scan his brain, maybe probe it a little next time. This is so exciting!"

Sheldon, with his arms still tightly around her waist, answered. "You would gladly trade me for a lab animal, would you?"

"Of course not," she said, resting her head on his chest.

"Amy," he said with a more serious tone, "did you fall in love with him after that gaze?"

"Why? Are you jealous?"

"You didn't answer my question. Your pupils were dilated and you blushed the entire time. How could I not be jealous?" he replied.

"Hmmm…"

"You're being evasive," Sheldon persisted after a while. "If you don't want to answer, then just do that experiment. With me."

Amy looked up at him. "Haven't you had enough gazing for the night? Frankly, Sheldon, I'm a little offended you'd think I got affected by that stupid experiment. I was thinking of you the entire time!" she paused. "Oh, I forgot to tell Carl, he was a little jaundiced."

"I'm sorry," he said. "But, didn't you see my discomfort? I had a panic attack. I thought I lost you. You avoided my eyes the whole time. I felt like you can never stare at me that long. You're always first to look away."

She laughed. "I thought you're just uncomfortable with the restaurant; the food was awful. But, well, you deserve it."

"Amy!"

"And, for the record, I can stare at you longer than that I just choose not to. You might not like the consequences."

"Why?" he inquired.

"Let's just say, there might be some positioning and momentum after."

He pulled her closer and, with a most seductive tone, said:

"I don't care. Let's do it."

* * *

**Epilogue**

True enough, they found position and momentum that night. Good thing it was Leonard's sleepover schedule with Penny or they would have heard the ruckus caused by the released of some long-repressed desires, not to mention, some loud and unnecessary (also, unavoidable as Sheldon found out) appeals to a deity.

Sheldon was cooking French toast when Leonard and Penny walked in the next morning.

"Good morning," Leonard greeted him. Sheldon turned around to greet them but the couple stood frozen in their places when his appearance registered on their minds.

Sheldon was in his usual plaid pajamas but his hair was unkempt and there was a glow about him that the other couple knew could only mean one thing.

"What's wrong with you people?" he asked Leonard and Penny.

After recovering from the initial shock, Penny started walking over the kitchen while Leonard simply grabbed the nearest chair and sat down.

"Anything you want to tell us, sweetie?" Penny said. "Like, you know, how you're night was?"

As if on cue, Amy came walking to the living room still looking a little dazed. She was wearing Sheldon's robe, her hair full of volume and waves elegantly flowing down her shoulders, her skin radiating a healthy glow. "Sheldon," she called out to him, "have you seen my glasses?"

Leonard and Penny's jaws dropped open. Their second surprise that day came in the form of a goddess. Penny cleared her throat. "Wowww, Amy. Afterglow suits you!" she said.

Sheldon quickly escorted Amy to the kitchen, drawing her glasses from his pockets and placing it on her face. "Good morning," he said and kissed her, before she had the chance to speak. He then turned to the other couple who were now seated in the living room. "Will the two of you please stop ogling my girlfriend?"

"Sorry," Leonard said. "So, hot date last night huh?"

"Actually, no. We went out with Carl the psychologist," Sheldon said, preparing a cup of tea for Amy.

Penny looked questioningly at them.

"Dr. Carl Fuller, I went out with him before," Amy said. "Three dates but it didn't get me any closer to his female colleagues as advertised so I moved on."

"Not to mention what your name would sound like if you ended up marrying him," Penny laughed. "Dr. Fowler-Fuller. Although Fowler-Cooper will not sound so great either."

"I don't think you're in a position to make fun of our surnames," Sheldon said.

"Future Mrs. Hofstadter," Amy and Sheldon said in unison.

The four of them were laughing heartily when Howard, Bernadette, and Raj walked in the apartment. They scheduled to have lunch together but decided to come in earlier to help with the shopping and food preparation.

"Sheldon," Howard said, holding a piece of paper, "there's a restraining order here for you and Amy. Huh? It's from a Dr. Carl Fu—"

He stopped dead on his tracks when he realized that Bernie and Raj had stopped moving and when he saw the cause of their astonishment, he froze as well.

"Give them time," Leonard said.

Sheldon got the restraining order from an unmoving Howard. "I've never been happier to receive a restraining order before. There's a note here for you." He moved closer to Amy, handed her the letter and hugged her from behind. "I think you better change your clothes now, unless you want our friends to be paralyzed from shock."

"Alright," she said, "Let me just read this first. Carl said: Amy, I think know an experiment when I see one. I want you to know that much I enjoyed last night, I have no desire to be put in a cage and have my brain probed. Yes, I heard that. Everything made sense now, like the fact that you experimented on me during our postdoc days, too."

" P.S. I failed those puzzles on purpose and I observed you and your boyfriend, too. My professional opinion is you are indeed in love with each other and are a perfect match. But, I'd rather be out of your dates from now on."

Sheldon exhaled derisively. "Professional opinion? Ha. He needed psychology to tell that we're in love? Poor guy."

"Care to tell us what happened?" Bernie then demanded, with a naughty smile on her face. "And I want the full blow-by-blow account."

"Well," Sheldon and Amy said at the same time, still unabashedly wrapped around each other, "we did the love test last night."

"We'll tell you the rest later," they added as they walked towards Sheldon's room, leaving their friends in a still slightly stunned state.

END

* * *

_Sorry this took so long. I'm having some trouble writing lately and I can't figure out why. Of course, I can't leave this story hanging so even though writing every word felt like pulling teeth, I finished it. Woohoo! In any case, the words are hard but I still enjoyed imagining things. I hope you enjoyed reading it, too. _


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